The NCAA News - News and Features

January 13, 1997

An Association in transition -- New-look NCAA to emerge with new structure

If all goes as expected, the NCAA will be a fundamentally different organization upon adjournment of the 1997 Convention.

This will be the last Convention at which the Association's longstanding legislative process will be used. No longer will all members of the Association conduct business together under a one-institution, one-vote philosophy. Instead, the membership divisions will act on a federated basis. "General business session" will become a term of the past.

Divisions II and III will continue to operate on a one-institution, one-vote approach at future Conventions, but Division I will put aside the "town-hall" process and go instead to a method of governance based on conference representation. No longer will representatives of all Division I institutions gather under one roof to vote on legislative proposals.

Those fundamental changes were put in motion at the 1996 Convention, and they will become effective this year, barring approval of legislation that would delay the effective date of restructuring until after the 1998 Convention.

At this Convention, the final work on restructuring is expected to be completed with the establishment of an Association-wide committee structure and with the creation of substructures for each of the restructured membership divisions.

The NCAA Transition Oversight Committee has identified 11 Association-wide committee functions that will be voted on by the full membership. Apart from those functions, it will be up to each division to determine how it deals with the issues before it. Divisions II and III will vote on committee structures that generally reflect the current approach, but Division I is expected to approve a substructure that would be based on the establishment of four large "cabinets."

Other business

Of course, restructuring isn't the only significant item on the Convention agenda.

Delegates in Division I will get the opportunity to act on recommendations made by the NCAA Special Committee on Agents and Amateurism and on other significant proposals, such as those to change the length of the athletics certification cycle from five to 10 years, to permit partial qualifiers to earn a fourth year of eligibility, to reduce the amount of contact in spring football practice and to authorize an examination of moving back the dates of the Division I Baseball and Women's Softball Championships.

A major issue in Division II relates to seasons of competition after the 21st birthday, while Division III delegates will focus on, but not vote upon, the question of championships enhancement and whether subdivision or subgrouping for the division is appropriate.

In all, there are 149 proposals contained in the 1997 Official Notice, along with 14 amendments-to-amendments.

In addition to the legislative program, the Association also will honor several top figures from intercollegiate athletics

William Porter "Billy" Payne, president and chief executive officer of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games, will receive the NCAA's highest honor, the Theodore Roosevelt Award, at the honors dinner the night of January 12. Also, six individuals will be presented with the Silver Anniversary Award, which goes to former student-athletes who have excelled in their careers 25 years after they completed their athletics eligibility.

In addition, eight student-athletes will be presented with the Today's Top VIII award.

NCAA President Eugene F. Corrigan, commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference, will chair the Convention's opening and general business sessions.